Prime Minister of Islamic Republic of Pakistan Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on ‘Kashmir Black Day

On this day 77 years ago, Indian forces landed in Srinagar. India has since stifled the legitimate aspirations of the Kashmiri people to determine their own destiny. It has failed to fulfill its obligations under the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

The people of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) have suffered countless hardships during last seventy-seven years. However, their resolve to realize their inalienable right to self-determination remains as firm as it was in 1947.

This day, I pay my heartfelt tribute to the sacrifices made by the Kashmiri people in their continued struggle for the right to self-determination. Undoubtedly, their sacrifices will not go in vain.

India has been taking successive steps to tighten its grip over IIOJK since 5 August 2019. India’s nefarious designs are aimed at undermining the disputed status of IIOJK and denying the Kashmiri people their democratic right to decide their own future.

Today, the Kashmiri people are enduring the most egregious and painful curbs on their daily lives and livelihoods. The number of political prisoners remains in the thousands. The Indian occupation forces act with impunity under draconian counterterrorism laws. However, these oppressive measures cannot dampen the Kashmiri people’s yearning for self-determination.

As I recently reaffirmed in my address to the United Nations General Assembly, Pakistan has consistently maintained that peace and stability in South Asia remain contingent upon peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant UNSC resolutions and aspirations of the Kashmiris. India must realize that it cannot suppress the genuine aspirations of the Kashmiri people by its coercive tactics.

Pakistan has always expressed its unwavering solidarity with Kashmiri brothers and sisters. It will continue to extend its full moral, diplomatic and political support to them until the final resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.